The second round of UT Southwestern's Dean’s Scholar in Clinical Research program has selected three outstanding early clinical investigators with diverse clinical and research interests. Out of a highly competitive applicant pool, the new scholars are (pictured above, from left):

Jeremy Louissaint, M.D.,  Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases – Dr. Louissaint’s research aims to leverage telehealth to improve the outpatient care of patients with cirrhosis, especially using effective technology-based patient-provider communication tools.

Betty Yang, M.D., M.S., Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and an emergency physician practicing at Clements University Hospital and Parkland Memorial Hospital – Dr. Yang’s research focuses on pre-hospital resuscitation with a particular interest in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, ventilation, and pre-hospital whole blood transfusion.

James MacNamara, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of the Division of Cardiology – Dr. MacNamara specializes in exercise physiology and advanced cardiac imaging, as well as shortness of breath and exercise intolerance in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The Dean’s Scholar in Clinical Research program strives to enhance the success of UT Southwestern faculty in the Clinical Scholar track. It provides early-career faculty protected research time, research support, didactic research training, and career guidance and mentorship to facilitate development as successful clinical investigators.

Department Chairs may begin to nominate new Dean Scholar candidates now for our next cycle of review, which will be conducted in the fall. Full details are available online.

Two years ago, UT Southwestern was granted a five-year, $46 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to strengthen our clinical and translational research infrastructures and enhance career development options for our investigators.

Since its launch, the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) has funded 23 grants totaling $795,000 for research. Several career development and training programs have been established to help early and midcareer faculty submit successful grants, earn formal degrees, and/or access individual coaching. Additionally, the CTSA Program has built infrastructure to accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into improved health.

Informatics Coordinating Office: Investigators have received sponsored services for 77 projects incorporating big data in areas such as bioinformatics, computational biology, and populations.

Biostatistics Consultations: Users have enjoyed over 600 hours of sponsored consult and work time during 196 consultations, with experts providing guidance in successful design of research projects, submission of grant applications, and preparation of manuscripts for publication.

Office of Community Health and Research Engagement: To date, 25 researchers have worked with the team and nine investigators have sought collaborative meetings with a curated Community Advisory Panel. The Spanish Language Resource has provided CTSA-sponsored translation for 33 projects.

For more information and periodic updates on ongoing sponsored opportunities related to clinical and translational research, contact ctsaprogram@utsouthwestern.edu.

UT Southwestern leadership recently gathered for the second Clinical Research Colloquium. The half-day program included reviewing the progress made since the inaugural retreat in clinical research operations as well as examining institutional trends in clinical research faculty, numbers of studies, participant enrollment, and extramural research. While this “look back” set the stage, much of the Colloquium was devoted to “looking forward” to future research opportunities.

The key areas of strategic discussion included:

·       Expanding and supporting clinical investigators

·       Increasing data science and quantitative support

·       Growing clinical trials and coordinating capacity

·       Genetic sequencing at scale

·       Artificial intelligence with clinical applications

In upcoming editions of this newsletter, we provide some of the research metrics as well as report progress on these major strategic initiatives.  

Didactic Sessions*

Monthly sessions on successful project development and the grant application process are part of the

Clinical Researcher Catalyst, a career development program for clinical researchers.

• Negotiating for Success – July 25: Register to attend.

• Setting the Stage for Your K Award – Aug. 29: Register to attend.

• Techniques and Tips for Writing Every Day – Sept. 26: Register to attend.

• How to Overcome Implicit Bias in Research – Oct. 10: Register to attend.

Registration Open: Writing Accountability Groups*

These eight weekly workshops tackle the obstacles in finding time to write and the intimidation of getting started. WAG aims to make scholarly writing automatic, mechanical, and routine.

• Sept. 11 through Oct. 30: Register to attend.

Clinical Informatics Fellowship

This two-year fellowship is designed for physicians who want to become leaders in the development

and implementation of clinical information systems that support patient care, research, and quality

improvement.

• Apply by Oct. 1. For more information, contact Christoph Lehmann, M.D.

Grant Writing Library*

UT Southwestern faculty members have free access to a grant writing library designed to help

researchers in the process of securing National Institutes of Health funding.

• Request access.

*Sponsored by the UT Southwestern CTSA Program